Looking Back at 2014 – November – Tasmania

We return from a short break in our programme due to a computer illness, thankfully now sorted.

So back to what was happening in November last year.

Following on from these posts here and here I’ll continue with our busy month.

With the auction date for our home looming we accepted an offer on the day before the auction was due to take place.  Most people would start packing ready to move…..not us……we headed off to Tassie.

It was a very quick trip to Launceston.

We have been to Tasmania twice before.  The first time was for our honeymoon in 1986.  We visited Launceston, as you do.  Reading the tourist brochures, the place to visit was “Pennyroyal Mill”, so we did.  Well, the mill had been moved there, and other than that it was all recreated and was more of a theme park.  Mick was not happy!  It was not good, and expensive.  I think that experience tarnished our opinion of Launceston as a whole.

When we visited Tassie in 2006 we didn’t even go to Launceston – just another big city was our reasoning.

Well, Launceston was our destination this time, so we were going to give it a second chance.

When booking accommodation the best option that I could see for us was a recently renovated studio apartment at, of all places “Pennyroyal Apartments”. Yes, the same place that had once been a theme park.  We had a chuckle.  The accommodation was great.

On our first afternoon we went for a walk along the waterfront, just to get our bearings.

We saw a cute little ferry that does tours up Cataract Gorge (something to keep in mind for our next visit), we found a nice looking seafood restaurant, so phoned there and then to make a booking for that night, wandered along the very modern marina and stumble upon a little plaque, forgotten in the long grass, commemorating the location of the first landing in Tasmania by a ship.

We then just kept on wandering, finding all sorts of interesting buildings and sites.

We noticed some interesting and colourful grafitti. More urban art than disfigurement.

When booking accommodation I came across references to a historic walking tour that you could take.  After our walks around cities in Europe, I thought this would be a good option to get an overview of the city.  It was fantastic and well worth joining in.

Robyn (our guide), Macquarie House, one of the earliest buildings, there is a bit of a battle to save some of the old industrial, buildings, Boags Brewery is going strong, right in the middle of town.

Some more lovely old buildings.

When we visited the area in 1986 we went to Entally House, so we had to go again.  There was a photo of me on the lawn back then.

We had to replicate the photo, although I look a little different now.

The grounds are lovely.

As is the interior.

In one of the bedrooms there is a lovely quilt created for the Bicentenary of Australia – compete with cat.

Of course food has to be a feature of any trip. The seafood restaurant really was lovely – something we like to do as a treat if we are at a coastal place.  We also like to treat ourselves for breakfast.

While we were in Tassie, we received confirmation that contracts had exchanged on our home, which was a big relief, so when we got home we could start getting ready to move.

Meanwhile, back on our holiday we went for a drive up the Tamar River to Low Head.

There is a main lighthouse as well has to other navigational lights.

We then called in at the pilot station. After the sweltering weather we had been having at home, it was cool and damp.

The setting could have been in England. We had lunch in the little cafe, which was like an English tea room. Seafood chowder was on the menu.  Perfect for the weather and setting.

Finally, I come to the reason for our short little trip to Launceston.  No, it wasn’t just a holiday.  We had been invited to a wedding.

Unfortunately, there was a little rain, but it was dry for the ceremony.  The bride and groom looked so very happy.

We have been friends with the bride’s parents for over thirty years.  It was lovely being a part of this special day.

Then, the next morning it was back on the plane to head home.  We did have an extra passenger in the car from Sydney to Bathurst – Cheryl.  But more on the reason for that next time.

The Ulysses Club AGM Rally will be held in Launceston in 2016, so we will be back then.  Although we packed in heaps into our short visit there is still much that we haven’t explored, so we are looking forward to returning.  Yes, as you can gather, our opinion of Launceston has completely changed.  It is a wonderful place to visit.